Fantasy Games
Reviews Summary Sinclair User Issue 3 Writer: Phil Garratt Psion offers a tape with two sci-fi adventure-style games, written in 9K and 14½K of Basic. The task facing the intrepid adventurer in Perilous Swamp is to rescue a princess and return safely, having fought, or bribed, monsters at every turn. You are given a map to help you and a new layout is produced for each game. The monsters, their strength, and the amount of treasure they are guarding are generated randomly at each step; you have to decide how much strength to use in overcoming them, or how much to offer as a bribe. This program is really a fairly simple guessing game rather than an adventure: there are no objects and no special locations but it has been well done, and was a welcome relief from some of the more brain-taxing games. The second Psion program, Sorcerers Island is a cross between the first and more traditional adventures. The detailed map is the same for each game and takes nearly a minute to display. There is a small vocabulary, move, fight, and so on entered as single letters, some objects, and even a rather ponderous maze. As you try to find the way off the island you use up your Life Points and hope to increase your Treasure Points. Popular Computing Weekly Issue 17 Writer: TB Sorcerer's Island/Perilous Swamp (£4.75) are the games on the other previously available tape, and are very good value. Perilous Swamp contains a Princess which the player has to rescue and escort to safety. It's really more of a board game than an adventure, but along the way you will meet various monsters and pick up bits of treasure or weaponry with which to bribe or fight them. Sorcerer's Island is a graphic adventure, in which you take a Sunday morning stroll around a paradise island. Uneventful, of course, apart from the giant, rats, minotaurs, and so on! Again, you can bribe or fight, or run away. Reaction times are a little slow, but a nice scrolling technique helps relieve any boredom. I've played the game for a year, and still not succeeded in finishing it. Personal Computing Today Issue 3 Writer: Chris Palmer Trapped in a swampy forest, dark slimy reeds surround you, deep black tar pits scattered in your path and many hideous creatures waiting in the shadows. This is the scene that unfolds in front of you as you start the Perilous Swamp adventure. The tape has two adventures on it that run in the ZX81 with 16K memory expansion. The adventures follow a fairly standard format, where you give the computer instructions how to move about the game map and the computer responds by giving you details of your surroundings, location, what treasure is there and what you have to do to take it. If you encounter a monster then you are given the option of fighting, running or bribing the creature to gain your freedom, or the treasure. If you choose to fight then you are asked to pit a certain amount of strength points in the battle. The computer will then fight the battle with you and display the outcome. It is best to leave the bribery option till later in the game when you are low on combat points. However, if you feel that you don't stand a chance you can try and run, which, if you are quick enough will save you. The game is fun to play even with the limitations of the computer, which seems unfairly biased to the monsters. As you leave the swamp it shows your score in terms of how many righteous monsters died guarding treasure which was rightfully theirs. Ratings Table *Program Quality - 3 *Value for Money - 4 *Presentation On-screen - 3 *Ease of Use - 4 *Crashproofing - 2 *Supplied Instructions - 3 *Overall - 63% ZX Computing Issue 3 Writer: Nick Pearce Finally, on a lighter side, is FANTASY GAMES, which contains two 'adventure' programs. On the A side of the cassette is PERILOUS SWAMP, which Psion recommend you tackle before you take on the more difficult SORCERER'S ISLAND on the B side. When you enter the Perilous Swamp you must rescue a princess who has been captured by an evil wizard, and then return safely. The game starts with a map showing your position, along with that of the princess, and the locations of several swamps in the rescue area. The map, which can be called up at any stage, is different for each game. As you move, prompted by requests for compass directions, monsters and treasures are encountered, and you gain or lose points as you fight or bribe your way onwards. This program has been well written and is quite entertaining. However, it is more of a guessing game than a true adventure program. SORCERER'S ISLAND is a cross between a guessing game like Swamp, and more traditional adventures. You have been marooned on the island from which you must escape. A detailed map can be called up at will, although the screen goes blank for nearly a minute each time you do so. You have a vocabulary of some ten words with which you tell the computer what you want to do. At each turn, your immediate surroundings are shown. Again, these take rather a long time to display. As the game progresses, you are assailed by monsters, tempted by treasures, and have to deal with the other hazards that abound on the island. There is supposed to be a grand sorcerer who can help you escape, but I have to admit I never managed to meet him. Again, an entertaining game, although l did think it was spoilt to some extent by the length of time it took to create the screen displays. FANTASY GAMES costs £4.75. Category:ZX81 Games Category:Psion Computers Category:Sinclair Research Category:Sinclair User Reviews Category:Popular Computing Weekly Reviews Category:Personal Computing Today Reviews Category:ZX Computing Reviews